Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
Catheters are commonly used in medical practice to examine and treat the heart. They may be inserted into the cardiovascular system of the patient through small punctures in the skin. They may then extend through a vein into the heart where they sense the electrical activity of the heart. Some catheters may be able to treat the heart by ablating certain areas of the heart in the case of certain types of aberrant electrical activity. Catheters typically include a tubular structure such as a plastic tube with one or more electrodes attached to the tip of the tube, a deflection mechanism for guiding the tubular structure, and a control handle.
During their use in medical procedures, catheters are exposed to biological fluids in the human body. Because catheters come in contact with these bodily fluids, they are commonly designed to be single-use devices to avoid the transfer of viruses or bacteria from one patient to another. Disposing of the catheters after each procedure leads to significant expenses to the patient and the healthcare system, as well as creates a substantial amount of medical waste. Catheters, particularly the handles and sheaths of catheters, are typically an expensive piece of equipment. Catheter handles, in particular, often include proprietary electronics and other expensive components for increased functionality. These valuable components are lost when the device is disposed after a single use. Because catheters and catheter handles are expensive and their use produces a large amount of waste, certain institutions resterilize and reprocess catheters for re-use. Reprocessing single-use devices reduces the cost of a procedure and minimizes the medical waste generated.
Catheters, and catheter handles in particular, are typically fabricated as substantially integral devices where most components are joined together using permanent connections and seals. These types of catheter handles are difficult or impossible to resterilize reliably, and small particles of biological matter may be trapped within the catheter even after the sterilization process. In addition, because most components are permanently joined together, these components are lost when the catheter is disposed of after use, even if they were still fully functional.